ZeroFox Physical Security Intelligence Daily Brief - March 24, 2024

ZeroFox Physical Security Intelligence Daily Brief - March 24, 2024

ZeroFox physical security experts collect, curate, and analyze information derived from open and proprietary sources for comprehensive context of the circumstances surrounding global events. Here is today’s daily roundup of major developments.

Brief Highlights

• China Establishes Territorial Points in Gulf of Tonkin, Sparking Territorial Concerns
• North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Between Japan and South Korea
• U.S. and Japan Urge Nations Not to Deploy Nuclear Weapons in Orbit

China Establishes Territorial Points in Gulf of Tonkin, Sparking Territorial Concerns

China announced a set of base points along its southern coast to define its territorial waters and sovereignty over the seabed and subsoil in the Gulf of Tonkin, known as the Beibu Gulf in China. China's claims go beyond the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which measures China's southern maritime zone from its low-water line along the coast. However, China is defining its territory up to 12 nautical miles from the seven points, covering a far bigger area. China’s new baseline sparked criticism from Vietnam, which has competing claims in the same region. Vietnam rejected the new Chinese baseline and requested that China respect international law and bilateral agreements. China’s move indicates its efforts to secure important waterways to better serve the economic development of the provinces and regions along the Beibu Gulf, such as Guangxi, Guangdong, and Hainan, as well as further strengthening maritime power to counter the Philippines and its allies, such as the United States.

North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Between Japan and South Korea

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Seoul, South Korea. The missiles were launched from the Pyongyang area and traveled nearly 200 miles before landing in the East Sea near both Japan and South Korea. The launches are North Korea's first in roughly a month and come days after the end of annual U.S.-South Korean military drills in the region that North Korea has described as proactive. North Korea has long denounced the military drills as rehearsals for an invasion against it. Tensions in 2024 in the region remain higher than normal with the rate of North Korean missile and artillery launches higher than normal along with the rhetoric from North Korea. In January, North Korea said it would rewrite the constitution to eliminate the country's long-standing goal of seeking peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula. North Korea has also been more public about its alliances with Russia and China.

U.S. and Japan Urge Nations Not to Deploy Nuclear Weapons in Orbit

The United States and Japan have come to a consensus that nations need to sign a treaty which will bar them from deploying nuclear weapons in space. In the U.N. Security Council resolution, the United States and Japan also urged nations not to develop these weapons. This development comes after concerns that Russia may be developing a space-based anti-satellite nuclear weapon, which could lead to disruptions in satellite-reliant services like military communications. Russia has denied any such activities. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty that Russia is a part of prohibits countries from deploying nuclear weapons to Earth’s orbit; however, the treaty does not prohibit any country from developing these weapons.